The use of removable seats in motor vehicles such as minivans, full-size vans and the like is known. Such seats can be removed in order to maximize cargo space behind a front driver seat, passenger seats, etc., and typically include a mechanism that affords for their releasable mounting to a floor in the interior of the vehicle. In addition, removable seats typically fold into a stowed configuration and are removed from the vehicle, placed on the floor or at least partially underneath the floor of the vehicle when detached from the floor and stored. Although removable seats can provide extra cargo space, convenience to a user of a vehicle, etc., heretofore removable seats have occupied floor and/or sub-floor cargo space when placed in a stored position/location within the vehicle.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 7,393,038 discloses a vehicle seat and seat storage structure that affords for a seat cushion to be detached from a seat base, the seat base, the cushion and a backrest operable to be folded and stored in a recess that is provided in a floor or an area underneath another seat of a vehicle. Likewise, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,955,386 and 6,962,384 disclose folding seats that can be stored underneath the floor of the vehicle or in a tub that is at least partially within the floor of the vehicle. As such, a stowable seat and seat storage structure that would allow for the stowable seat to be stored within the interior of a vehicle, and yet not occupy any floor or sub-floor cargo space, would be desirable.